IPL and the exciting pool of talent
Cricket and more cricket. More the merrier as they say! The T20 World Cup had ended not long ago and soon thereafter came in another T20 fixture__the IPL. Nobody talks of there being an effect of over-cricket and the enviable fan base is the proof of how vast is the following for this variety of the sport. The whole country is under the spell of the scorching summer sun but down in the stadia at different venues, cricketers are scorching the greens with scintillating batsmanship and bowling skills too, backed by tumultuous applause from all around. The rivalry between the teams is not just on the ground level but in the packed galleries too with colour and gaiety marking each day’s show. Yes, it is all happening and even though just in the early stages as yet, the IPL has brought forth enough to justify its high popularity rating and also to set up an exciting time ahead for cricket lovers as the contests get hotter and closer.
Each of the ten teams in the fray have a challenging set of players, national and international, established and those seeking recognition. That is why the IPL is such an exciting platform where the fans are treated not just by the established but the relatively new comers too with skills that can be mindboggling. Nobody would have missed the massacre that the Australian Tim David of Royal Challengers came up with the other day to douse the spirits of Chennai Super Kings. It was explosive batting at its best with the ball once even scaling the huge stadium premises to land outside! The Australian is known for this but only he had not in recent times been able to come up with such a sparkling performance. All that changed on that Sunday as bowlers succumbed to his brutal assault!
Talk of Indians and everybody knows what a Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli can produce with their bats or how Suryakumar Yadav can swing the bat around to send the ball through unbelievable angles to the far corners of the arena but there is still more variety in store! There is enough promise of that coming. Yes, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old wonder-boy is already a giant in the midst of the men, and glimpses of his abilities have come in early with promise of more. The Rajasthan Royals’ player was there last year, gathered enough following and now starts additionally as the star of India’s recent U-19 world cup triumph.
More players around are bound to join Suryavanshi’s list soon. One who would certainly do has to be Sameer Rizvi, the Delhi Capitals batter from UP. Mentioned as the right-hand version of Suresh Raina, the former India-player and Chennai Superkings’ star. Like Raina, the 22-year-old Rizvi revels in the big strokes virtually of spin or pace and clean hitting can be a sight to behold. Rizvi showed his class the other day with a 90 that helped Capitals to bring down the champion outfit Mumbai Indians. Additionally, that brought him the Player of the Match (POTM) award for the second time in two matches! He had done the spadework for victory for his team against Lucknow Super Giants earlier. That match also brought to fore his mental make-up for with wickets falling and a target of 142 to be chased, Rizvi showed the kind of maturity beyond his years. Inspired confidence and Rizvi was the centre of attention as he rebuilt Capitals’ innings and what is more put it on victory path. The 70 he scored was enough to bring his team a win and fetch for him the POTM! Having won the POTM in the previous season, Rizvi had the rare honour of being the eighth cricketer in the world to win back-to-back awards in the IPL. And there is more to go!
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Like Rizvi, there were few others who earned notice like Ayush Mhatre and Priyansh Arya to name just two. But for poor Mhatre, the captain of the triumphant U-19 T20 team, his capabilities are yet to bring the cheer for his team Chennai Super kings, which is still to open it’s account after seeing defeat in three matches on the trot. A leading outfit once, CSK has slipped and this season the goal has been to regain a shade of its winning touch at least to pacify its huge fan base. But that is still to happen. Another leading outfit Mumbai Indians too seem to be in a similar stage, particularly after the way Rizvi-inspired Delhi Capitals meted out a defeat. One thing seems increasingly clear this season, the rising talents and continuing flow of the established players, foreigners included, and their spread out in the various teams should ensure no one team could get to play a dominant role all the time.
Talk of talent surplus and this is what Indian cricket is facing at the moment. Already it is acknowledged that the IPL had inspired the kind of strength acquired by the national T20 side which got reflected in the World cup and now India’s dominance in this limited over game is well established. Perhaps a stage has reached when those established had to come up with something special to keep the selectors’ continuing confidence in them.